The Jolly Fisherman

The Jolly Fisherman on East Beach Street was first licensed in 1834, in a building of 1769. It closed in 1959 and spent decades as other things, a café among them, before reopening in 2016 as Hastings' first micropub. It now blends in so well with the Old Town's older pubs that you would never guess.

It is small and friendly, with beers served from casks on the back wall: real ale and a crafty range of beers, with cider taken just as seriously. It was the local CAMRA branch's cider pub of the year in 2021, and taster paddles help you choose.

The music is part of its character, goth and post-punk as often as not, and there is a quiz on Thursdays. It opens in the late afternoon on weekdays, from 2pm at weekends, and is closed on Mondays.

It looks out over East Beach Street to the beach, a few doors from the London Trader, with the Stade and the fishing boats just beyond.